Brewers' outfielder Ryan Braun arrived at spring training and was immediately swarmed by reporters outside of the main practice fields. The scene was far less formal compared to last spring when Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, answered questions for nearly an hour in a press conference setting about a positive test for boosted levels of testosterone. That conference revealed telling details about the test and his appeal.

On Friday, Braun, in an impromptu gathering, issued a quick statement saying he would not answer any questions related to his involvement with an alleged performance-enhancing drug distributor before spending about 10 minutes talking about the season ahead.

"I understand why a lot of you guys are probably here, but I made a statement last week, I stand behind that statement and I'm not going to address that issue any further," Braun said. "As I stated, I am happy to cooperate fully with any investigation into this matter.

"I respect the fact that all of you guys have a job to do. Part of that job includes asking me questions. I'm happy to answer any and all questions about baseball, spring training, the World Baseball Classic or anything else."

Braun's latest controversy stems from a Yahoo! Sports report connecting Braun with documents found at Biogenesis, a Miami-area clinic that allegedly had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to a host of MLB stars, including New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez.

At the time the report was released, Braun issued a statement saying his legal team had used the clinic's operator, Anthony Bosch, as a consultant during his successful appeal of a 2011 positive test.

Major League Baseball has said it is investigating the relationship between Braun, Bosch and the clinic.

The Miami New Times redacted Braun's name because, unlike other athletes on the list, his did not have a specific banned substance linked to his name.

Braun said the support he has received from the Brewers organization has helped him deal with the latest investigation.

"I appreciate everybody's support. You know, in life, when you deal with challenges, you see who supports you, you see who has your back. And they've certainly been very supportive and for that I'm very thankful."

One person who has not talked to Braun about the investigation is Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, who said he does not plan on addressing the matter with his star player.

"I don't think I have to," Roenicke said. "I just don't think there's anything there. We text, but I text him through the winter anyway, so it really wasn't anything different."

Roenicke also said he has not talked to or been contacted by MLB's investigation team, but did say he would be open to talking to them if he were approached. The manager denied defending Braun, instead insisting he simply does not know enough about the report to come to a conclusion on the matter.

"I don't think I'm outspoken in his defense. I really don't know what's going on, I just don't know much about it, so really I don't have much to say. I don't really know what to feel about it. All of the information I get is from you guys, from what I read.

"What I'm in defense about is when the media, and not just (Braun), when the media brings up names and there's not enough there to really warrant a name being brought up."

Braun said he does not anticipate any more adversity this season than what he faced last year. He said he is focused on getting his team back to the playoffs and improving as an individual player.

"I don't think about those things. I don't think about things that are out of my control, I only worry about things that I can control," he said.

Brewers' catcher Jonathan Lucroy said the latest controversy is not affecting the Brewers locker room.

"It's not a distraction at all," Lucroy said. "For us we're just going to go out and play baseball everyday and get better. For us, he's our teammate and we love him and support him."